Little Black Dress

Maybe it's time to forgive Toby Pipes for Deep Blue Something and
"Breakfast at Tiffany's." It's been more than 13 years since that
insipidly catchy song gave a completely unrepresentative impression of
Denton music—and even the band that wrote it—to audiences
all over America.

Little Black Dress, Pipes' new project with singer/guitarist and
singer/bassist Nolan Thies and supporting players, sounds something
like Deep Blue deep cuts—meaning any song other than DBS' one
hit—with drone notes buzzing under a haze of distortion and
reverb.

It's more an homage to the acts the band lists as
influences—My Bloody Valentine, Cocteau Twins and Depeche
Mode—than anything original. But Toby's soothing, pretty voice is
far more listenable than his brother's alt-rock whine. The intricate,
slow-building intro "Makeshift Blinds" is a nice way to ease into the
album. Elsewhere, the synths and echoing guitars of the title track
give a slight chilly, detached feel that counters the cheery uplift
that characterizes the bulk of the album.

All in all, it's not bad at all, if not particularly memorable.
Unlike the once-ubiquitous hit of the band that made Pipes famous, Snow
in June offers nothing that will stick in your head more than a few
minutes after the album ends—let alone a decade. If only it were
the other way around.